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TIFF Interview: Midnight Madness Programmer Peter Kuplowsky Shares His Top Picks

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Midnight Madness Peter Kuplowsky

KM: This is a tough question, but if there’s someone who can only see three films at Midnight Madness this year, what are the must-see movies? 

PK: I’ll maybe frame it like this; there are certain films that I don’t think are going to need a lot of help with regards to hype. I don’t think anyone needs me to say anything else beyond the words Richard Stanley, Nicolas Cage, and HP Lovecraft and not be interested in Color Out of Space. So movies like that maybe don’t need help.

There are a couple of titles I feel I may want to mention, just because there’s so many first-time filmmakers and unknown entities. One film is The Platform, a Spanish feature from Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia — a first-time filmmaker. Per your question earlier about what gets me excited, I was watching screeners and this came on. I think it was after midnight, so I was expecting to watch the first 20 minutes and finish it in the morning, and I was rapt for the entire 90 minutes. I was so excited, because I didn’t know where the movie was going. It’s a science fiction prison movie that absolutely belongs in the pantheon of Stuart Gordon’s Fortress, or Vincenzo Natali’s Cube, and it’s so economically put together.

The Platform via TIFF

It kind of reminds me of the prison room sequence of the Japanese movie Symbol meets The Raid. Because there’s visceral, grotesque action at times, there’s really really brilliant satire; it’s doing so much with very little means in such a creative way with really brilliant performances. I think this is going to be one of the true hidden gems of the lineup that people are going to talk about.

On a similar note, a film that I strongly encourage people to check out is The Vast of Night. It’s another first-time filmmaker, it played Slamdance and so impressed me there that I really wanted to give it a huge platform and a big screen like TIFF. So the comparisons I’ve been making are American Graffiti meets Miracle Mile meets Pontypool; the performances are brilliant, the filmmaking is really wild, I think it’s going to be really inspiring to indie filmmakers to realize what you can accomplish with just a very creative production design.

One of the things I like about Vast and Platform are that they’re genre movies that really prove that the foundation is in the script; make sure your script is rock solid. Because there are moments in The Vast of Night where really the camera is just honing in on a single performance and letting that actor just have a conversation with someone and it is so tense and so creepy and so atmospheric, and yet there isn’t conventional genre elements like explosions or big action. But I’m so impressed by the suspense that the film creates.

And I also want to flag Saint Maud as well. I’ve been comparing it to Raw in terms of the slow-burn Midnighter movie. I think the two performances that sort of anchor the film — the relationship between Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle — are really, really fantastic. It’s super cringey in the way that sometimes slow-burn Midnight films can be, where it’s kind of stabbing you along the way while soaking you in this atmospheric dread and it sort of blows up in a big moment. So those are three movies that might not be on people’s radar.

But I would definitely also toss in that if you’re looking for scary in particular, The Vigil is the film to see. It’s basically the Jewish Exorcist [laughs]. That’s not even my words, those are the words of a Jewish friend of mine who happened to see the film and was like, “now I know how Catholics felt when they watched The Exorcist”. They’re relating it to the mythology and demonology, like, far too much. So that’s a scary movie. 

TIFF Midnight Madness

The Vigil via TIFF

KM: Are there films that you’re really excited about that are in other programs at TIFF?

PK: I cannot wait to watch The Lighthouse again with an audience. I think the thing that people might not expect is that it’s really funny. Maybe it’s my perverse sense of humor, because I thought that Hereditary was really funny [laughs]. I liked The Witch but I LOVE The Lighthouse, so I can’t wait to see that again.

I would also urge people to check out Synchronic which is by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead who have been on the genre circuit for the last decade now with Resolution and Spring — which was at TIFF — and The Endless. And if you like any of those movies, it’s very much in that tradition of very conceptual sci-fi that kind of creeps into the movie in a really original and unique way.

And one other movie! This definitely won’t be on people’s radar so I do want to suggest it, it’s called Jallikattu. It’s an Indian horror… not a horror film per se, but it’s incredibly visceral. I’ve been jokingly referring to it as the Indian Jaws. It’s about a bull that’s escaped the slaughter and starts ravaging this Indian village. It’s one of those movies that’s like when Steven Soderbergh watched Mad Max: Fury Road and was like “I don’t understand how people aren’t dead” [laughs] that’s kind of my reaction to this movie. I was just so blown away by the sheer scale of production and the energy and momentum. 

KM: I’m curious, what do you think is the most underrated film of the past year that’s flown under everyone’s radar?

PK: Every summer I don’t see anything, because I’m just watching the next year’s lineup. This isn’t a genre film – and I’ll come up with a genre film in a second – but I think Patrick Wang’s A Bread Factory Part I and Part II is the best American movie to probably be made in the last decade, I think it’s an extraordinary work. I call it Twin Peaks with just the folksy parts and none of the darkness. But let me think of something that might make more sense to recommend to iHorror [laughs]. I mean it’s at the Festival, but Parasite by Bong Joon Ho has definitely done it again, he’s pretty great.

Parasite via TIFF

Something that I honestly would have considered programming at Midnight Madness absolutely is Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum. Everyone’s excited about the Joker film, I’m excited to see it too, but we already got our Joker movie, and it’s The Beach Bum. This movie basically purports a world in which Batman doesn’t exist, and if Batman doesn’t exist, the Joker would just be a hedonistic, charismatic dude, that did stuff he wanted to do and burned money. It would be super chill. I really, really think that movie was completely slept on. I know it’s not purely genre, but it is chaotic [laughs]. It’s certainly chaotic, and it’s up to the audience to decide whether that’s good, neutral, or evil, but it’s definitely chaotic.

KM: What’s your favorite part of the job? I know that’s a very broad question, but what really gets you excited about doing what you get to do? 

PK: I think my favorite part — there are aspects I like in every stage of the process — but my favorite part is watching the film with the audience. It’s something where I feel very privileged as a programmer; very few programmers get to watch the movie they’ve selected with the audience. I’m so fortunate that because the films are at midnight, there’s nothing else going on. That’s the end of everyone’s day, and in effect, when the movie ends, it’s the end of my day. So I am just there and I sit with the audience and relax, and I’ve always loved that audience so much.

The reactions at Midnight Madness are the reactions of an audience that made me excited to go into film festival programming to begin with. Especially when it’s a film that I personally really like, but I haven’t played anything like that at Midnight Madness before, and I’m not sure how it’s going to work. The filmmakers are definitely often very nervous, but I’m nervous too. I feel excited when something works well with the audience and that when we all kind of become one spirit in watching the madness. 

TIFF Midnight Madness

Color Out of Space via TIFF

KM: That’s something that I absolutely love about the Midnight Madness experience is that you really have that sense of community, that everyone’s there to have a good time and be supportive of the film. It’s unlike any other audience when you go to a movie theatre.

PK: I think for a lot of people, myself included, it’s worth going to a Midnight screening simply to get the rare experience of attending an event where everybody wants to be there. When you go to the multiplex, seeing movies is not always a decision made by people because they want to see a movie, it’s often a decision that’s made to like, kill some time. We don’t know what else to do today [laughs]. So the level of engagement is so much more diminished.

Midnight Madness is a rare opportunity where you can be in a room of 1200 people and everybody wants to be there. Everybody wants to have a good time, and everybody is really open to having a good time. It really is one of the most open and generous audiences a filmmaker can hope for and an audience member can hope to be in. 

 

Tickets for TIFF go on sale September 2 at 10am, with earlier access for Members.

via TIFF

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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